Authorities Bar 2 From Leaving Haiti

January 6, 1988|Cox News Service

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Two Haitians who worked with the former electoral council were prevented by authorities from leaving Haiti on Tuesday to attend a Caribbean Community and Common Market conference in Barbados.

The CARICOM meeting, set for today, was called for the 13-member group to discuss the political situation in Haiti. The group`s chairman, Prime Minister John Compton of St. Lucia, said he hoped CARICOM heads of government would ask Haiti`s ruling National Council of Government to postpone the election scheduled for Jan. 17.

Jean-Claude Roy and Jean-Robert Sabalat, both of whom worked for the independent Provisional Electoral Council that was disbanded by the government, had hoped to attend the CARICOM meeting. Both men were stopped at the immigration booth and told they would not be permitted to leave the country.

Sabalat, who headed the CEP`s Port-au-Prince division, said he was told the Interior Ministry had issued the interdiction. Both men hold current Haitian passports and the required visa for Barbados.

``The employees just said we have orders to stop you,`` Sabalat said.

An immigration officer declined to comment. ``Immigration does not give interviews,`` she said.